Saturday, February 12, 2011

An evening in Paris

Ok, so my beloved cousin (love you, sis!) insisted me to post this from my notebook because she thought it was funny:) So here you go!

Paris.January.Sunday.
19:50
Sitting in Starbucks, waiting for my man . He's gone to take his mum from airport. I find that very sweet:) I miss him, only if it's been just 3 hours that I'm alone.
Starbucks...I have such mixed opinions about it. Sometimes I hate it and think people come here only because it is fashionable to have a cup with this signature green logo in their hands, no matter how overpriced your coffee is. Sometimes I love it and find it somewhat special. If it is so popular all over the world, there must be a reason for it, no? Let's take a look at my order: medium size vanilla rooibos tea, served in a recyclable cup, cake thé vert au framboises, a classy little spoon and a serviette (tissue) made from recycled paper. They are earth- friendly, taste of the tea and cake is perfect as for a Sunday evening, calm jazz music floating in the air, cozy atmosphere. Why would you hate Starbucks? I have better reasons to hate typical Parisian cafes. You come in, middle aged French waiter with a hooked nose gives you a fake smile, says Bonsoir, and when he notices you are not french, he just drops the menu right in front of you. You ask for a fruit cocktail without alcohol and they claim they don't have it, because oh it's so hard to exclude alcohol from a drink! Then you order latte, because what's the other choice left, right? When you tell what you want, the waiter pretends to be confused so that you would repeat your order several times:
- Coffee latte...LATTE, please
- Cafe laaa-te?!
- Yes, please.
Finally, he serves your coffee with no glass of water. Because who gives a glass of water with coffee for a foreigner?:) (Doesn't matter that people all around had one). Then they are watching you with a face full of French arrogance while you drink your coffee. When you are heading out, they tell you a stupid joke in French and because you don't understand it, they would insert few English words to make it "understandable" and then a rude bye-bye will lead you out of the cafe.
This is why it is worth going to Starbucks, you will be treated properly and always welcome. Plus, the variety of lattes will make you happy.
20:30
Still at Starbucks waiting for my man...I'm kinda starving, didn't eat since breakfast (green tea cake doesn't count). He's on his way to catch me up. OK, the classical music is way too loud in here. What is it, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi? God, I know NOTHING about classical music. Must take a note on that and write it down on my "Things to do in life" list.
- Learn to distinguish between classical music artists. Learn the names of the most famous symphonies.
Noted.